British Library

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport with reference to his Department's press release of 8 November 2007, how many visitors from Europe the British Library attracted in each year since 1997.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 19 November 2007
	The British Library do not collect data specifically on visitors from Europe. They do, however, collect data in a number of specific areas of activity, which indicate the level of European usage of their services:
	
		
			  New Reader Passes and Renewals: Europe (excluding the UK) 
			   Number 
			 1997 2,543 
			 1998 3,525 
			 1999 3,627 
			 2000 4,093 
			 2001 4,276 
			 2002 4,112 
			 2003 3,290 
			 2004 3,580 
			 2005 4,462 
			 2006 4,618 
			 2007 (to date) 3,792 
		
	
	 Exhibition Visits
	Exit surveys indicate that the Rest of Europe attendance for the last three British Library exhibitions were: 2006 Front Page 4 per cent. (4,458); 2006 London: A Life in Maps 9 per cent. (11,857) and 2007 Sacred 10 per cent. (20,005).
	 Website Visits
	From market research undertaken during the past three years it is estimated that approximately 15 per cent. of website usage comes from the Rest of Europe. The British Library's current website usage stands at nine million unique hosts per annum, which suggests that approximately 1.35 million users are from the Rest of Europe.

Departmental Flexible Working

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many staff  (a) have applied to work flexible hours and  (b) work flexible hours (i) in his Department and (ii) the executive agencies for which his Department is responsible.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not keep central records of  (a) staff who have applied to work flexible hours and  (b) central records of how many staff work flexible hours. Many requests for flexible working are made informally between managers and staff and therefore not formally recorded.
	The information requested could therefore be provided only at disproportionate costs. However, the Department for Culture, Media and Sports operates a flexible working policy that includes:
	Flexible working hours (formal and informal flexi, compressed hours, term-time working and annualised hours);
	Part-time working or job sharing; and
	Home working including formal or informal arrangements.
	Our Agency, The Royal Parks, is also unable to provide information on number of staff who have applied to work flexible hours or work flexible hours.

Digital Switchover Help Scheme: Greater London

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps the Government  (a) have taken and  (b) plan to take to assist elderly people in London to prepare for the switchover from analogue to digital TV; and if he will make a statement.

James Purnell: The Government have asked the BBC to establish and fund the digital switchover help scheme. This scheme will assist the over-75s and those with significant disabilities (including the blind or visually impaired) to convert to digital television. This help is free of charge to poorest households—those who receive income support or pension credit. Others will pay a £40 charge
	The help scheme will be available to eligible residents in London at least eight months before switchover begins in the London area. The London ITV region is scheduled to switchover in the first half of 2012.
	In the meantime, advice and information about digital switchover is available from Digital UK: from their website www.digitaluk.co.uk<http://www.digitaluk.co.uk> or by calling Digital UK's helpline on 0845 650 5050.

Sports: Schools

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport with reference to the answer of 29 October 2007,  Official Report, column 639W, on sports: schools, by what date he estimates that the 225 competition managers will be in post.

Gerry Sutcliffe: We estimate that our final wave of senior competition managers will be in post between April and September 2008, and our final wave of competition managers between September 2008 and January 2009.

Army: Complaints

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what procedural time limits apply to the issue of a decision by the Army Board on a complaint under Army redress procedures relating to  (a) sexual harassment,  (b) racial harassment,  (c) parental leave directive,  (d) pay and (e) religion.

Bob Ainsworth: There are no absolute time limits on the processing of application of complaints by the Army board because each complaint is different and must be treated on its own merits. Guidance contained within the Army General Administrative Instruction Chapter 70 suggests 60 working days from receipt by the board for it to make a determination. However, from 1 January 2008, new procedures will come into effect as a result of the Armed Forces Act 2006. From that point most complaints will be referred to service complaint panels rather than service boards. The suggested timings for the panels to make their decisions will be the same as for the Army board at present.
	In addition, the new Service Complaints Commissioner will provide an alternative way for service personnel to make certain types of complaints. The Commissioner will set her own reporting timelines for monitoring progress when she passes complaints to the services for action.

Network Rail: Cost Effectiveness

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport in what areas she expects Network Rail to make savings in order to achieve the 31 per cent. target by 2009; how Network Rail will make efficiency savings of 31 per cent. by 2009; and what savings she has already identified within Network Rail

Tom Harris: It falls to the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) to confirm progress in the delivery of Network Rail's efficiency performance over the period from 2004-09 against the 31 per cent. unit cost-efficiency target which the ORR set under its 2003 Access Charges Review.
	Monitoring by the ORR shows that Network Rail remains on course to achieve the overall cost efficiencies of 31 per cent. by 2009.

Railways

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the expected additional journey time is for commuters who will have to travel from Winchester to Romsey by rail, via Southampton, when the direct rail link bus service is discontinued; and if she will make a statement.

Tom Harris: The current time for the Rail link bus between Winchester and Romsey is 25-26 minutes. In the new timetable the time by Rail from Winchester to Romsey via Eastleigh will vary dependent on the time of day but at best is 42 minutes, an increase of 17 minutes.
	Additionally, it should be noted that the X66 commercial bus service runs a parallel service taking approximately 30 minutes.

Departmental Flexible Working

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff  (a) have applied to work flexible hours and  (b) work flexible hours (i) in the Department and (ii) the executive agencies for which the Department is responsible.

Shahid Malik: DFID is committed to improving the work/life balance of its staff, and provides a wide range of flexible work pattern options.
	On joining DFID, and at any subsequent time, all staff have the option to request to join our Flexible Working Hours Scheme (FWHS). Agreement to this is made by line managers, taking into account the operating needs of their unit. Options include home and remote working, term-time working, reduced hours, compressed hours and flexible start and finish times.
	We do not retain a central register of staff who have asked to join our FWHS, nor of all those who are working under those arrangements. In our recent Management Survey, 84 per cent. of DFID staff strongly believed their line managers actively support flexible working.
	DFID does not have responsibility for any executive agencies.

UN High Commission for Refugees

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what  (a) vaccination,  (b) treatment services and  (c) complementary livestock feeding has been undertaken by the UN High Commission for Refugees and its implementing partners in 2007.

Shahid Malik: UNHCR is not able at this stage to provide 2007 data on vaccination programmes and treatment services. Data is currently being collated for publication in UNHCR's Global Report 2007 which will be published in March next year. UNHCR has no complementary livestock feeding programmes.
	The target population of UNHCR and its implementing partners for vaccination programmes and treatment services are refugee children under five. UNHCR has established an annual programme of immunisation against eight major childhood diseases and provides free treatment and health services through its implementing partners. Where possible, it also provides local health services in fourteen countries in Africa and Asia.
	With the exception of Chad and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), UNHCR's immunisation and treatment services reached 90 per cent. of the target population in 2006. Expectations are that coverage will be maintained or increased in 2007.

Convictions: Racial Violence

Jo Swinson: To ask the Solicitor-General how many  (a) charges and  (b) convictions there have been for the offence of incitement to religious hatred.

Vera Baird: The relevant provisions of the Racial and Religious Hatred Act were only implemented on 1 October 2006. So far, no one has been charged under these provisions and, accordingly, there have been no convictions.

Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the guidance set out in the model contract and code of conduct for special advisers, what  (a) notices of external employment and  (b) other conflicts of interest were declared by his Department's former special adviser, the hon. Member for Normanton (Ed Balls), between 2 May 1997 and 1 July 2004.

Angela Eagle: Special advisers are employed under terms and conditions set out in the "Code of Conduct" for Special Advisers. The rules for civil servants, including special advisers, who wish to take up other employment in addition to their civil service duties are set out in Section 4.3 of the "Civil Service Management Code". The principles on conflicts of interest are set out in Section 4.1

VAT: East of England

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many businesses have  (a) registered and  (b) deregistered for VAT in (i) the East of England and (ii) Suffolk in each of the last five years.

Stephen Timms: The number of new VAT registrations and de-registrations in the East of England and Suffolk are shown in the table for 2002 to 2006, alongside the total number of VAT registered businesses at the start of each year. Data for registrations and de-registrations in 2007 will be available autumn 2008.
	
		
			  Number of VAT registrations, de-registrations and VAT registered businesses in the East of England and Suffolk county 
			2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			  Registrations East of England 17,820 18,735 17,815 17,955 17,495 — 
			  Suffolk County 2,100 2,160 2,085 1,915 1,885 — 
			 
			  De-registrations East of England 14,840 15,125 14,945 13,910 14,020 — 
			  Suffolk County 1,715 1,715 1,655 1,590 1,630 — 
			 
			  Stock of VAT registered businesses East of England 179,500 182,480 186,090 188,955 193,005 196,480 
			  Suffolk County 22,520 22,905 23,345 23,775 24,105 24,360 
			  Source:  Business start-ups and closures: VAT registrations and de-registrations in 2006 available at http://stats.berr.gov.uk/ed/vat/index.htm 
		
	
	Although the number of registrations and de-registrations in both areas has fluctuated over the period, the total number of VAT registered businesses in Suffolk has increased from 22,520 at the start of 2002 to 24,360 at the start of 2007, an increase of 1,840 (8 per cent.). The total number of VAT registered businesses in the East of England has increased from 179,500 at the start of 2002 to 196,480 at the start of 2007, an increase of 16,980 (9 per cent.).
	VAT registration and de-registration data provide the only accurate indicator of the level of business start-up and closure activity at the county level.
	However, VAT registrations do not capture all business activity. Businesses are unlikely to be registered if they fall below the compulsory VAT threshold, which was £60,000 at the start of 2006. Only 1.9 million out of 4.5 million UK enterprises (43 per cent.) were registered for VAT at the start of 2006.

EU Reform Treaty

Peter Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the ratification of the EU reform treaty.

Jim Murphy: As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has said
	"The Government will recommend that there is sufficient time for debate on the Floor of the House so that the Bill is examined in the fullest detail and all points of view can be heard".
	Once the Bill has been approved by Parliament, the Government will ratify the treaty.

EU Reform Treaty

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects the UK to ratify the EU Reform Treaty.

Jim Murphy: As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has said "The Government will recommend that there is sufficient time for debate on the Floor of the House so that the Bill is examined in the fullest detail and all points of view can be heard". Once the Bill has been approved by Parliament, the Government will ratify the Treaty.

Burma

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs If he will make a statement on the political situation in Burma.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary made a statement on Burma on 14 November. We welcome Professor Gambari's report on his recent visit to Burma and look forward to his early return. We support Aung San Suu Kyi's statement and her call for a
	'meaningful and time-bound dialogue'
	with the regime. These signs of progress are welcome, but much remains to be done to secure real political change.

China: Administration of Justice

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the government of the People's Republic of China on the development of the Chinese legal system to internationally-recognised standards; whether he expects such reforms to the Chinese legal system to be in place by 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: We regularly urge the Chinese government to ensure that domestic legislation complies with international standards, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). During his visit to China in August my noble Friend the Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, the right hon. Lord Malloch-Brown, urged China to progress reforms and ratify the ICCPR as soon as possible. The Director of Public Prosecutions also raised ICCPR and China's criminal justice system when he visited Beijing in September. The Chinese government remains unwilling to commit to a timetable for ICCPR ratification. In 1997 the 15(th) Party Congress committed to developing a socialist legal system by 2010. President Hu Jintao's speech to the 17(th) Party Congress in October 2007 repeated the goal of "speeding up the building of a socialist country under the rule of law".

Pakistan: Custody

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the answer of 9 November 2007,  Official Report, column 167, on Pakistan (detention), what assessment he has made of the treatment of  (a) Mrs. Asma Akhtar and  (b) other UK nationals who are involved in child custody cases in Pakistan's courts.

Kim Howells: In custody cases abroad, involving British nationals, we offer advice and practical support to parents to assist them through their court proceedings. The courts must resolve custody cases of this kind. We understand that it is very difficult for the parents and children involved when the cases are not resolved quickly, but we are unable to intervene in the legal process of another country.
	We cannot comment on individual cases.

Pakistan: Custody

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has taken steps to implement the recommendation in paragraph 7 of the UK-Pakistan Judicial Protocol on Children Matters to the governments of the UK and Pakistan to identify or consider creating a provision for an enforcement authority.

Kim Howells: The UK-Pakistan Protocol is a judicial understanding between the High Courts of the UK and Pakistan. It is not legally binding, rather an informal framework for judges in both judiciaries to help return abducted children to their normal place of residence. The Government fully support the aims of the Protocol. Paragraph 7 of the Protocol "recommended that the respective governments of the UK and Pakistan give urgent consideration to identifying or establishing an administrative service to facilitate or oversee the resolution of child abduction cases". For the UK we have a dedicated child abduction section within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. We continue to seek ways to enhance the practical application of the Protocol. To this end we are supporting a conference to be held in Islamabad next year bringing together senior members of both the UK and Pakistan judiciaries, as well as UK and Pakistani officials, and non-governmental representatives.

Pakistan: Politics and Government

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Government of Pakistan in relation to the situation in that country; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary spoke to the then Pakistan Prime Minister Aziz and the then Foreign Minister Kasuri on 5 November. In both cases he urged the Pakistani Government to act quickly to restore the Constitution and in particular to ensure that free and fair elections are held by 15 January 2008, that political prisoners are released, media restrictions lifted and that President Musharraf honours his commitment to resign as head of the Army.
	My noble Friend the Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, the right hon. Lord Malloch-Brown, spoke to the then Prime Minister Aziz on 12 November when he reiterated our concerns and stressed that elections be free and fair.
	I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary's statement to the House on 7 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 130-32.

Political Parties: EU Action

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the Government has made to the  (a) European Commission and  (b) European Parliament in relation to Commission proposal COM (2007) 0364 for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council, amending Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003.

Jim Murphy: The Government have set out their views on this proposal in the course of a range of contacts with the European Commission and European Parliament following its presentation in July 2007.
	Since July, the Government have had the opportunity to discuss this proposal with the European Commission and Members of the European Parliament in line with the terms of the Explanatory Memorandum submitted to Parliament on 23 July.

Serbia: Politics and Government

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what EU criteria have been met by Serbia which allowed it to initial a Stabilisation and Association Accord with the EU; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him today (UIN 165379).

Bluetongue Disease: Disease Control

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will introduce measures for the testing and moving of continent bulls under special licence alongside measures to control the bluetongue outbreak.

Jonathan R Shaw: We assume the hon. Member is referring to the movement of domestic breeding stock.
	All ruminants are subject to current bluetongue control measures, as outlined in EU and domestic legislation and the UK Bluetongue Control Strategy.
	We are considering whether it is possible to introduce practical measures, which can mitigate the risk of disease spread if susceptible animals are moved out of the restricted zone to live. The conditions set out in the new Commission Regulation to allow such movements are very stringent and not easy to implement. They include the testing of animals and the protection of animals from disease vectors.
	Through close partnership with industry stakeholders, we are keeping all movement controls under review as the disease situation develops. We are very conscious that we must balance the need to reduce the pressure on the industry with the overriding objective of controlling bluetongue.

Dangerous Dogs Act 1991

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects to complete his review of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991; when he expects to announce the outcome of that review; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 15 November 2007
	Following recent tragic incidents involving dog attacks on children this year, we have undertaken a review of the dangerous dogs legislation. Officials consulted all chief police officers in England and Wales to find out their views on how effective the dangerous dogs legislation is, what could be done to improve enforcement and whether any parts of the law need to be changed. Officials discussed the results of this consultation with the Association of Chief Constables (ACPO).
	In the light of this consultation, we believe that the priority is for existing law to be more effectively enforced rather than introducing new legislation. Officials will work closely with the police service, local authorities and animal welfare organisations to achieve this.
	All dogs, not just those types banned under the dangerous dogs legislation, may present a risk to the public if they are not properly looked after. There is already robust law in place to deal with the problem of dogs that are out of control in public places. But there is a limit to how far laws, however well written they may be, can tackle the small minority of dog owners who are either irresponsible or, for other reasons, find it difficult to look after their animals properly. I therefore welcome the work being done by those animal welfare organisations that go out and offer practical advice and help to those who are having difficulties. I believe this is the best way of effectively fostering a more responsible attitude to dog ownership in this country.
	I know that some feel that the law relating to dog attacks in the home should be strengthened. I am not convinced that changing the existing law would help those who either enforce the law or administer justice, or reduce the number of attacks that take place in domestic places. This is an area that we will keep under close review and, if necessary, make changes to the law if we think that this will reduce these very distressing incidents that occur within a family context.

Disease Control: Pirbright

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whose responsibility is it to repair the faulty drains at the Pirbright Research Laboratory in Surrey; and when he expects this work to be carried out.

Jonathan R Shaw: Those responsible for repairing the drains are the Institute of Animal Health (IAH), the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) (which owns the land and buildings on the Pirbright site) and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills as the IAH's and BBSRC's sponsoring Department.
	Remedial action was taken immediately after the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reported on a survey of the drainage system on 17 August, and was followed by further work, which was completed and independently validated and tested by 4 November 2007. Details of the work to repair the system, and an Improvement Plan to implement recommendations made by HSE and Professor Spratt in their respective reports on the disease outbreak, were published in the Government's Response to the reports on 7 September and is available on the DEFRA website.

Flood Control: Planning

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will consider having a direct contact point for the construction industry in the Environment Agency on flood defences and other infrastructures that affect coastal, river and pluvial flooding.

Phil Woolas: The Environment Agency maintains a large number of contacts with the construction industry, utilities and other operators at a host of levels (both nationally and regionally) on a broad range of operational, policy and process topics. These contacts include relationships with professional bodies such as the Institution of Civil Engineers, CIWEM and trade associations such as the Civil Engineering Contractors Association and the Association of Consulting Engineers.
	Major flood risk management schemes delivered by the Environment Agency, are primarily promoted through its long term framework contracts. These partnerships have established communications protocols that allow the supply chain direct access to senior procurement and capital programme management staff.
	In short because the nature of these contacts is particularly diverse, the Environment Agency does not feel that it is practical or beneficial to nominate a single contact for the construction industry.

Floods

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of the flooding in summer 2007 was due to  (a) river flooding and  (b) surface water flooding.

Phil Woolas: The Environment Agency estimates that, of the domestic and commercial properties affected by flooding during summer 2007, one third was flooded from rivers and two thirds from other sources, predominantly surface water.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the  (a) budget and  (b) remit is of each non-departmental public body sponsored by his Department; who the chairman is of each; and to what salary, including bonuses and expenses, each chairman is entitled.

Jonathan R Shaw: The information requested is published in individual non-departmental bodies annual report and accounts. Also available on the DEFRA website (www.defra.gov.uk) is a full list of DEFRA's non-departmental bodies providing further information and links to published documents including annual reports.

Seas and Oceans: EC Action

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: An Integrated Maritime Policy for the European Union, COM(2007) 575 final, when he expects the European Union to adopt a directive on an Integrated Maritime Policy; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: I have been asked to reply.
	The Commission Communication contains no specific proposal for a directive. The Government, together with other EU member states would need to consider any such proposal in detail.

Seas and Oceans: EC Action

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make a statement on the maritime research work his Department is conducting with other  (a) EU member states and  (b) non-EU countries.

Jonathan R Shaw: Maritime research is intrinsically international in character. Much of the Department's research activities are undertaken by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS).
	Co-ordination of much applied marine resource, environment and ecosystem is undertaken under the auspices of the inter-governmental International Council for Exploration of the Seas (ICES). The membership of ICES is of 20 countries around the North Atlantic, including several non-EU countries. International Working Groups meet on issues such as monitoring of fisheries, harmful algal blooms, marine contaminants and oceanography, as well as provide commissioned advice. In 2007, the UK and ICES jointly sponsored meetings on marine indicators and on changes in marine acidification. Working Groups also meet under the Oslo and Paris Commission (OSPAR).
	The EU Framework programmes also enable a considerable body of collaborative work to be undertaken. Currently, CEFAS has 26 such projects of which 12 are fisheries-related, seven concern marine environmental issues and seven relate to fish health and welfare. They involve all other member states except Luxemburg. The programmes also involve institutes from another 20 countries. Further countries are involved through other non-EU projects.

Water Supply: Licensing

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to exempt contractors from having to apply for an abstraction licence to pump water; and why he discontinued the earlier exemption for contractors from having to apply for such an abstraction licence.

Phil Woolas: There are no plans to exempt contractors from having to apply for an abstraction licence where they are pumping more than 20 cubic metres per day. Abstractions of less than 20 cubic metres per day are exempt from abstraction licensing.
	The exemption from abstraction control, stated in the Water Resources Act 1991, of a number of activities which may have environmental impacts, such as long term dewatering for quarrying and lack of provision for temporary abstraction licences, were addressed in the provisions of the Water Act 2003. These provisions will be commenced in 2008.
	Abstractions to deal with emergencies to protect life, or property or the environment, such as removal of flood water, will remain exempt from licence control.
	The Water Act 2003 makes provision for temporary abstraction licences and a faster process for obtaining such licences from the Environment Agency. Temporary abstraction licences are applicable to projects where water needs to be pumped for less than 28 days but may have potential environmental impacts.

Local Authorities: Finance

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities received financial support for  (a) arms length management organisations and  (b) private finance initiatives in the latest year for which figures are available; how much was provided to each local authority; and how many homes were affected in each local authority.

Iain Wright: Those local authorities receiving financial support for arms length management organisations (ALMOs), the value of supported borrowing that that support is based on for 2006-07 and the number of dwellings involved are included in the following table:
	
		
			  Authority  Supported borrowing  Units affected 
			 Kirklees 9,448,726 28,269 
			 Barnsley 27,379,717 23,648 
			 Blyth Valley 16,929,000 7,756 
			 Bolton 39,761,000 21,500 
			 Carrick 5,302,997 3,872 
			 Cheltenham 8,940,000 5,027 
			 Colchester 11,105,000 7,060 
			 Hillingdon 15,741,000 13,904 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 9,795,000 7,220 
			 Leeds 103,077,426 69,888 
			 Oldham 25,200,000 18,550 
			 Waltham Forest 5,000,000 11,190 
			 Barnet 15,752,520 11,452 
			 Gateshead 42,140,000 24,663 
			 High Peak 4,606,000 4,389 
			 Islington 25,862,200 30,231 
			 Newcastle 54,586,000 32,092 
			 Poole 9,733,518 4,726 
			 Sheffield 91,039,480 11,074 
			 Solihull 17,885,000 11,541 
			 South Lakeland 6,600,000 3,421 
			 Warrington 5,958,400 9,935 
			 Bury 6,520,000 8,936 
			 Ealing 43,100,000 14,679 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 23,002,000 13,778 
			 Manchester 17,570,000 17,342 
			 Newark and Sherwood 9,000,000 5,334 
			 Rotherham 45,000,000 25,128 
			 Sandwell 53,800,000 35,079 
			 Newham 12,000,000 17,814 
			 Stockport 19,980,000 11,806 
		
	
	It is not possible to give the actual level of housing revenue account (HRA) subsidy paid to authorities to support their ALMO borrowing as the ALMO supported borrowing forms a part of their overall HRA supported borrowing.
	Support for local authority PFI schemes in 2006-07 and the number of dwellings affected is shown as follows:
	
		
			  Authority  2006-07 (£)  Reduction in number of non-decent units( 1) 
			  Housing revenue account payments   
			 LB Camden (Chalcots) 6,132,595 601 
			 LB Islington (Street Properties 1) 6,140,376 1,900 
			 LB Islington (Street Properties 2) 9,067,058 2,954 
			 Leeds City Council (Swarcliffe) 6,096,988 1,933 
			 Manchester CC (Plymouth Grove) 3,012,098 1,091 
			 Manchester CC (Domestic Energy Services) 301,853 n/a 
			 Manchester CC (Miles Platting) 200,630 1,770 
			 LB Newham (Canning Town) 2,391,331 1,020 
			 Oldham MBC (Sheltered) 4,949,744 1,639 
			 Reading BC (North Whitley) 3,997,107 1,370 
			 Sandwell MBC (Hawthorns Fields) 5,713,405 1,041 
		
	
	
		
			  Authority  2006-07  (£)  Number of additional social rented units( 2) 
			  General fund payments   
			 Derby CC 236,000 150 
			 LB Hammersmith and Fulham 378,756 32 
			 North East Derbyshire DC 33,000 51 
			 Selby DC 539,929 250 
			 Warrington Phase 1 (Anson and Blenheim) 214,673 105 
			 (1) Total includes units that are refurbished, units that are demolished and replaced with new council stock and units that are demolished without replacement (2) Units are owned by RSLs with councils having nomination rights 
		
	
	The PFI subsidy payments are a contribution to the annual payments that the local authority has to make to the PFI contractor under the terms of the PFI contract.

Social Rented Housing: Leeds

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many social rented homes will be built in Leeds West constituency in  (a) 2008-09 and  (b) 2009-10.

Iain Wright: We announced in the Housing Green Paper an increase of new affordable housing to at least 70,000 per annum by 2010-11 of these 45,000 homes will be for social rent, with a goal to go further in subsequent years to 50,000 new homes for social rent in the next spending review period.
	Regional Assemblies are currently providing advice to Ministers on their priorities for investment in 2008 to 2011 and completions in particular locations and constituencies will depend on the bids received by the Housing Corporation.

Departmental Assets

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what departmental assets are planned to be sold in each financial year from 2007-08 to 2020-11; what the  (a) description and  (b) book value is of each such asset; and what the expected revenue is from each such sale.

Kevin Brennan: The Department will be publishing an asset management strategy in December 2007 which will provide details of our planned disposals up to 2010-11.

Departmental Publicity

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department and its predecessor spent on advertising and promotional campaigns in each year since 1997; and how much was spent on  (a) television,  (b) radio,  (c) print media and  (d) other costs in each campaign; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: Promotional campaigns, including those using advertising, are funded from the Department's central Advertising and Publicity Budget and from individual programme budgets held by policy directorates.
	Spend from the Advertising and Publicity Budget since 1997 is set out as follows . In addition to funding promotional campaigns, this budget also covers a wide range of other publicity activity (including magazine production and infrastructure costs such as mailing and storage of departmental publications). It is not possible to separately identify the campaign activity, except at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			   £000 
			 1997-98 10,879 
			 1998-99 13,426 
			 2000-01 14,595 
			 2001-02 11,688 
			 2002-03 14,091 
			 2003-04 16,943 
			 2004-05 12,489 
			 2005-06 9,391 
			 2006-07 10,686 
			 2007-08 (to 31 October 2007) 5,713 
		
	
	The spend on promotional campaigns from individual policy directorate programmes cannot be separately identified, except at disproportionate cost. However, it is possible to separate the Department's spend on advertising, as this is centrally placed through the Central Office of Information. However, these figures will include advertising spend from within the Advertising and Publicity Budget totals given in the table.
	The Department's advertising spend since 1997 is set out as follows, with a breakdown of individual campaign totals (where known) since 2000-01 and a breakdown of media spend against individual campaigns since 2004-05. It is not possible, without disproportionate cost, to provide earlier breakdown of costs or further details of campaign costs.
	
		
			   £000  Campaign  £000 
			 1997-98 9,992   
			 
			 1998-99 15,673   
			 
			 1999-2000 11,900   
			 
			 2000-01 29,110 Don't Quit Now 2,700 
			   New Deal 50 plus 2,400 
			   ICT employability 2,011 
			   Childcare recruitment 1,821 
			   Promotion of parents5 magazine 1,484 
			   Disability discrimination 1,242 
			   Fast track teaching 1,056 
			   Modern Apprenticeships 856 
			   Individual Learning Accounts 612 
			 
			 2001-02 17,665 Adult basic skills 5,096 
			   Childcare recruitment 2,504 
			   Science Year 1,803 
			   Excellence Challenge 1,750 
			   Modern Apprenticeships 1,670 
			   Foundation Degrees 1,325 
			   Fast track teaching 1,250 
			   Millennium Volunteers 848 
			   Promotion of parents' magazine 770 
			   New Deal 25 plus 633 
			 
			 2002-03 13,790 Adult basic skills 5,478 
			   Childcare recruitment 2,741 
			   Aim higher 2,650 
			   Connexions 1,320 
			   Student finance 655 
			   Foundation Degrees 549 
			 
			 2003-04 20,170 Adult basic skills 6,673 
			   Aim higher 4,190 
			   Connexions 2,608 
			   Childcare recruitment 2,987 
			   Foundation Degrees 2,814 
		
	
	
		
			   Television  Radio  Print  Total 
			  2004-0511,088 
			 Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA) 1,241 768 1,544 3,553 
			 Sure Start Month — — 127 127 
			 Adult basic skills 2,941 726 580 4,247 
			 Teenage pregnancy — 961 19 980 
			 Student finance — 684 183 867 
			 Fast track teaching — — 69 69 
			 Foundation Degrees — 483 — 483 
			 Childcare recruitment — — 281 281 
			 Promotion of Need 2 Know website — 275 — 275 
			 Promotion of Parents' Centre website — — 172 172 
			 DfES classified/recruitment — — 31 31 
			  
			  2005-067,939 
			 EMA 786 305 171 1,261 
			 Teenage pregnancy 400 538 143 1,081 
			 Childcare recruitment — 302 289 591 
			 Adult basic skills 1,238 207 126 1,570 
			 Student finance 1,400 460 196 2,057 
			 Need 2 Know — 54 — 54 
			 Parent's Centre — — 143 143 
			 Foundation Degrees — 221 413 634 
			 Fast track teaching — — 18 18 
			 DirectGov parenting franchise — 147 293 440 
			 DirectGov education and learning franchise — — 85 85 
			 Sure Start — — 3 3 
			 Every child matters — — 2 2 
			  
			  2006-076,265 
			 Adult basic skills 1,491 244 — 1,805 
			 Student finance 1,753 626 97 2,476 
			 Teenage pregnancy 558 653 59 1,534 
			 Childcare recruitment — — 166 405 
			 Children and young people's workforce — — — 45 
			  
			  2007-08(1)2,589 
			 Diplomas — 940 250 1,190 
			 Teenage pregnancy 361 315 40 984 
			 Childcare — — 86 86 
			 Cyberbullying — — — 88 
			 Connexions — — — 241 
			 (1) This is the commitment to 14 November 2007. Additionally, £1.861 million has been spent on the student finance campaign which is now led by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.

Departmental Questions

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what percentage of questions tabled for answer on a named day to his Department received a substantive answer on the day due in the last year for which figures are available.

Kevin Brennan: The Departments PQ tracking system is currently unable to break down the data requested and to do so would incur disproportionate cost. This Department aims to ensure that Members receive a substantive response to their named day question on the named day, and endeavours to answer ordinary written questions within a working week of being tabled. Unfortunately, this is not always possible but this Department makes every effort to achieve these timescales.

Cochlear Implants

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cochlear  (a) unilateral and  (b) bilateral implants have been performed on (i) children and (ii) adults in each NHS trust in each year since 2002-03.

Ivan Lewis: Data from Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) for bilateral and unilateral cochlear implants from 2002-03 to 2005-06 is shown in the following table.
	 [Official Report, 15 January 2008; Vol. 470, c. 9MC.]
	
		
			  Count of finished consultant episodes for bilateral and unilateral cochlear implants from 2002-03 to 2005-06, national health service hospitals, England 
			   Bilateral  Unilateral  Not known  Total 
			  18 and over 
			 2005-06 * 201 * 215 
			 2004-05 * 192 * 209 
			 2003-04 * 189 * 209 
			 2002-03 * 174 * 188 
			  
			  Under 18 
			 2005-06 6 266 14 286 
			 2004-05 8 239 20 267 
			 2003-04 * 227 * 252 
			 2002-03 * 178 * 214 
			  Notes:  Procedure codes used D24.1 Implantation of intracochlear prosthesis. D24.2 Implantation of extracochlear prosthesis.  Laterality codes used Z94.1 Bilateral Z94.2 Right sided operation Z94.3 Left sided operation Z94.4 Unilateral operation The not known column shows where D24.1 or D24.2 are present but no code has been entered for the laterality of the procedure.  Low Numbers Due to reasons of confidentiality, figures between 1 and 5 have been suppressed and replaced with "*" (an asterisk).  Ungrossed Data Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).  Source: HES, the Information Centre for health and social care.

Dental Services: Manpower

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS dentists there were in each constituency in England in each year since 1997; and how many of them  (a) admitted new adult patients to their list and  (b) treated NHS patients between the ages of 18 and 65 years in each of those years.

Ann Keen: Information is available on the numbers of national health service dentists. Information is available on the number of patients receiving NHS dental services but not in a form that provides information on how many of dentists individually accepted new NHS patients.
	Information is available by parliamentary constituency for the period 31 March 1997 to 31 March 2006. For the period 1 April 2006 onwards information is available only at primary care trust (PCT) and strategic health authority (SHA) level. It could be made available only by constituency at disproportionate cost.
	Annex G of the "NHS Dental Activity and Workforce Report England: 31 March 2006" provides the constituency level data on the numbers of NHS dentists as at 31 March 1997 and each subsequent year to 31 March 2006. This report is available in the Library and is also available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/primary-care/dentistry/nhs-dental-activity-and-workforce-report-england-31-march-2006
	The numbers of NHS dentists at PCT and SHA level as at 31 March 2007 are available in Table El of Annex 3 of the "NHS Dental Statistics for England: 2006-07 report".
	The numbers quoted for both periods are headcounts and therefore do not distinguish between full-time and part-time NHS commitment. Most dentists divide their time between NHS and private dental care.
	The inclusion of dentists on trust-led contracts in the data collection following the 2006 reforms means that data for the period since 1 April 2006 cannot be directly compared with data collected under the previous system.

Departmental Relations

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health by what means his Department plans to increase its engagement with voluntary organisations through using the Compact.

Ivan Lewis: In 2002, the Department wrote to all national health service organisations in England asking them to sign up to, or be working towards, a geographically relevant local compact by 31 March 2004. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Mr. Lewis) made a fresh commitment to the principles of the Compact on 1 December 2006 in a joint statement with Stuart Etherington, chief executive of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations.

NHS: Telephone Services

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received from patient groups on the use of 0844 revenue-sharing telephone numbers; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: We do not keep records on the number of inquiries about 084 numbers we receive from patient groups. Since January 2007, we have received 100 letters on the subject of 0844 telephone numbers.